The Government will ignore pleas to ringfence money for black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) women and girls who have suffered violence when it unveils an updated domestic abuse strategy next month.

Theresa May was widely praised for introducing the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy in 2010. But campaigners have asked officials now to guarantee central government funding of around £10m to protect financially struggling organisations specialising in issues involving women from minority backgrounds. They advise on issues such as female genital mutilation and offer an Islamic perspective on a woman’s right to divorce if she is being beaten.

However, government sources have told The Independent on Sunday that money for BAME work won’t be ringfenced when the refreshed strategy is published on or around International Women’s Day on 8 March.

But while the Government is keener on local councils choosing where the money is spent, there is a precedent for ringfencing: cash has been set aside for sexual violence victims’ support.